Roberta Ferrence

Roberta Ferrence is Adjunct Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist Emerita with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She was OTRU’s first Executive Director, holding the position from 1993 until 2011. She is currently OTRU’s Senior Scientific Advisor. Dr. Ferrence received her Master’s degree in Medical Sociology and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Western Ontario. She has been involved in tobacco and alcohol research for many years. Her research interests include the epidemiology of tobacco use and alternative nicotine products, the impact of tobacco policy on health, the role of tobacco use and exposure in mortality and morbidity, and economic factors in smoking behaviour. In recent years, she has been involved in research on environmental tobacco smoke exposure in public and private environments, behavioural and economic effects of restrictions on smoking, waterpipe smoke exposure and electronic cigarettes. Dr. Ferrence has served on numerous committees and task forces for the National Cancer Institute of Canada, the Canadian and American Cancer Societies, The US Institute of Medicine, The US National Institutes of Health, Health Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. She was lead editor on Nicotine and Public Health, published by the American Public Health Association. She is currently Associate Editor, Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

Competing Interest Statement

Roberta Ferrence, Senior Scientific Advisor, is Senior Scientist Emerita with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Adjunct Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Dr. Ferrence has had no relationships with the tobacco industry or with the pharmaceutical industry in the past year. In 2013, she held grants as PI, co-PI or co-investigator from the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care and the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR). In the past, she has accepted travel support and reimbursement from Health Canada and the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.

About OTRU

The Ontario Tobacco Research Unit (OTRU) is a Canadian leader in tobacco control research, monitoring and evaluation, teaching and training, and is a respected source of science-based information on tobacco control. We also apply our skills to other areas of public health.